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Mixing it up: Central Coast mixologists have fun behind the bar, and more in our annual celebration of cuisine
A purple lemon-drop inspired drink garnished with fresh lavender may not be exactly what you’d expect at a traditional Irish pub. But Mason Frakes, bar manager at Rooney’s Irish Pub in Orcutt who created the vodka-heavy concoction, thinks it’s right at home next to a long list of Irish beers and whiskeys. “I like playing…
Local Notes: Bottlest concert series pairs wine and music
Bottlest is Buellton’s newest attraction to the wine scene, offering a unique chance to blend wines or just hang out, eat, and taste. But now, the new spot is adding “concert venue” to its title. The restaurant and wine bar—owned by Terravant Wine Company—began a new concert series, titled Crafted, at the beginning of June.…
What’s your favorite food?
Genesis Acosta cashier “Hmm, I’d have to say pizza.” Freddy Godinez Marine Corps “Can I pick more than one? I’d say chicken alfredo, lasagna, torta, tacos … I could go on, I love food.” Alex Villa sales manager “Well I’m Mexican so maybe Mexican food would be my favorite. But really, I love everything.” Fernanda…
Tastes grrreat: Get your hands on classic burgers and sandwiches at Tony’s Burgers
When John Stankis first walked into Tony’s Burgers in Santa Maria, he had no idea the impact it would have on his life. He was just there to grab a quick bite to eat. He always tries new burger joints, Stankis told the Sun, for a very good reason. Stankis grew up in Compton with…
Solving summer hunger: Foodbank to host free lunch events for Santa Barbara County’s children
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will offer free lunches to kids this summer via its Picnic in the Parks program, which aims to compensate for free and reduced-price school lunches while school’s out for summer. The North County program will run at 10 park sites in Santa Maria and Orcutt on weekdays from June…
Chef Brooke Stockwell shares her past and future
In the culinary world, you know you’ve made it when you no longer need a last name. Such is the case with Chef Brooke, aka Brooke Stockwell, who is one of the region’s fastest rising stars. Starting her career as a private chef, Chef Brooke moved on to stints as executive chef at Terravant Wine…
ICE sweeps include home raids in Santa Maria
President Donald Trump’s administration is making good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, resulting in sweeping deportation operations across the nation and hitting close to home in Santa Maria. Most recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area—an operation that impacted…
Blush-colored glasses: It’s rosé season–all day, every day
Winemakers have kept a secret from us—the wine-drinking public—for decades: Rosé is amazing. OK, it’s not like they were keeping it a secret on purpose. The public is just finicky, prone to whims, and is made up of hopeless gossips. And pink wine had a hard time shaking the whispers that defined it as sickly…
humor
Shamefully, I’ll admit it. I’m on roids. No, not steroids. I don’t have arms that look like legs or currently hold a MLB home run record. When I say I’m on roids, I mean I am literally on roids, like I am sitting on a hemorrhoid right this second. I have no formal training on…
The family behind Good Medicine Presents brings their talents to 2017’s Live Oak Music Festival
Three years ago, Todd and Korie Newman loaded up their recreational vehicle, “Marvey the RV,” and drove their kids, Rohn and Acacia, to the Live Oak Music Festival for the very first time. “We always had a concert or two or three of our own that weekend,” Korie explained. They’d wanted to go for years,…
Get seedy at Dunes Center book club
The Dunes Center has a book club that meets once every six weeks. Their current selection is Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses & Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History by Thor Hanson (pictured). The book club will meet on Sunday, June 25, at 2 p.m. to discuss the selection.…
Celebrate 30 years of dance in Santa Ynez
The Santa Ynez Valley Performing Arts Company, under the direction of Christine Fossemalle, presents its 30th anniversary celebration featuring a public performance of “An Invitation to Dance” at the Santa Ynez Valley High School Little Theatre, June 22 through 24. The show will be the farewell performance for 2017 graduates including Victoria Arias, Isabella DeLeon,…
Local students can participate in free ‘Youth Arts Alive’ classes
Students looking to get involved in arts have a chance to sign up for free classes in Santa Maria. Youth Arts Alive is offering free one-hour classes in music, dance, theater, and visual art for ages 12 to 17 (seventh to 12th grade) at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center. The classes take place on…
Santa Maria high schools consider ethnic and gender studies curriculum
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District’s Ethnic and Gender Studies Committee will begin developing course curriculum true to the committee’s name during the 2017-18 school year, according to a press release from the district. District Superintendent Mark Richardson said in the release that the committee will create yearlong ethnic and gender studies courses…
Santa Ynez student admits to charges from April fight, school works to move forward
A Santa Ynez Valley Union High School (SYVUHS) freshman admitted to a felony charge of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. The student, 15, was issued the charge in juvenile court on April 7 following an April 4 fight…
Hancock student nets PG&E scholarship
Jenny Chiao, who has earned six associate degrees from Allan Hancock College, was recently awarded a $20,000 scholarship from PG&E to pursue higher education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). More than 1,000 students applied for PG&E’s STEM scholarships, and Chiao was one of 20 students selected by the company for…
Politics of discourse
Have I ever pissed you off? It’s entirely possible—I’m an opinionated little bird. But what is it about an opinion, just these words printed on paper that can excite anger, loathing, and even hate? Well, fluttering around newspapers most of my life, I have an extensive data set to pull from. The opinion page is…
Hobnobbing with Helen: Do it for the Dunes Center
One million dollars. That is how much a local oil company, ERG, has pledged to give to the Dunes Center in Guadalupe. This humongous gift was announced on the Saturday evening of June 3, at the nonprofit’s fourth annual fundraising garden party with a 1920s theme. Did jaws drop? You bet they did. Doug Jenzen,…
The Sun earns national awards
The Sun cleaned up in the 2017 National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Editorial Contest, bringing home two first place awards, along with one in second place and two in third place. Arts and lifestyle writer Rebecca Rose reeled in both first and second place in the Best Humorous Column category for “Out of my dog…
Murder suspect was previously deported, ICE officials say
A 24-year-old Nipomo man arrested for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death had been deported from the United States nine months before the murder, according to federal immigration officials. SLO County Sheriff’s Office deputies took Julio Caesar Alonso into custody May 31 after they discovered the body of Alonso’s girlfriend, identified as 24-year-old Paulina Ramirez-Diaz…
Spotlight on: Community Environmental Council, Solarize Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County’s summer months see longer, sunnier days, which North County residents have the possibility of turning into dollars. A program spearheaded by the Community Environmental Council (CEC) called Solarize Santa Barbara County gave residents in South County the chance to buy solar panels at low costs, and now North County residents can hop…
Clarification
In the June 1 story, “Spotlight on: Pioneer Valley High School AVID program” the Sun misstated the date of Santa Maria’s annual State of the City address, which is scheduled for July 12.
Three arrested for attempted murder in Lompoc
The Lompoc Police Department arrested three men on May 28 in connection to a May 18 gang-related shooting, according to the department’s Sgt. Kevin Martin. The shooting occurred at the 1200 block of West College Avenue in Lompoc, where a victim was shot in the back and later treated and released, Martin told the Sun.…
Santa Maria gathers public input on reducing youth violence
Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino’s task force on youth safety is kicking off a series of public forums this month, looking for community input on how to best curb violence among young city residents. Earlier this year, Santa Maria’s City Council approved the formation of a youth safety task force, in response to what Recreation…
County opts to ban short-term residential rentals
Unless you live in your home or on your property in Santa Barbara County, a majority of the Board of Supervisors wants to ban your right to use it as a short-term rental property. After a morning hearing stretched into the afternoon, the board voted along North/South County lines (with 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam…
Bill could exempt Chumash-owned land from taxes
A bill that would exempt the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians from paying property taxes on Camp 4 passed off the Assembly floor on June 1. The Chumash-sponsored Assembly Bill 653 “would exempt from taxation property owned in fee by a federally recognized Indian tribe if specified conditions are met,” including if the U.S.…
Trump sets Dems’ hair on fire
Listening to the local news coverage, I can tell that those who are critical of leaving the Paris Accord probably didn’t listen to President Trump’s arguments for why it was a bad deal for the United States. I happen to agree with his points. Not knowing how our local critics came to their opinion is…
Response to Benchwarmer
“Though it is hard to blame one person,” you do it anyway (“No points for prejudice,” May 25). Yep, The Donald is the cause of all the racism in the U.S., probably even the entire world. There was no racism at all before he was elected six months ago, and suddenly it’s everywhere. And he…
Buellton ordinance revisited
When he did not contact me as promised, I contacted the Buellton City Manager Marc Bierdzinski, and he said the RV, boat, and trailer ordinance will be revisited on July 27 at 6 p.m. You need to know that the May 25 Santa Ynez Valley News had an article in it about John Connolly giving…
Santa Maria City Council serves everyone
Questions and comments have come up about just whom the Santa Maria City Council serves! Please read this entire commentary and I’ll try to explain the council’s duties and responsibilities to meet the needs of the entire community. First, I’ve lived in Santa Maria for more than 40 years and had the honor to serve…
Two counties, two futures
In her 2017-18 county operating budget “executive summary,” Santa Barbara County CEO Mona Miyasato stated that this year’s budget theme is “One County. One Future.” I consider this to be highly ironic for reasons I have iterated before, and will reiterate today. However, before I do, I want to state unequivocally that I have the…
Santa Maria Elks Rodeo was fun for families and fans
For many fans at this year’s Santa Maria Elks Rodeo, it was not, as the saying goes, their first rodeo. But for this humble narrator, it was, and after attending my first rodeo, I can safely say it was an experience. Driving through the sprawling Elks Unocal Event Center on a late Thursday afternoon, the…
Cameron Glazewski
Cameron Glazewski of Santa Maria has been playing baseball since he was 5 years old, which segued into softball at 17, when he was finally old enough to play on the adult softball league with his parents. “Baseball kind of led into softball for me, and my parents played softball pretty much my whole life…
Political Watch 6/8/17
• California Gov. Jerry Brown took to the airwaves to chastise President Donald Trump after he pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord on June 1. Brown spoke with PBS News Hour’s Judy Woodruff about Trump’s decision and climate change, which he called “an existential threat to all humanity and the natural…
